


Getting Back Up

by Angelgod187



Series: The Davis Investigation (Part 1) [8]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Background Plot, Denial of Feelings, Feelings, Gavin is just trying to help, Hank Anderson is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Mentions of Alcohol Abuse, More like android-napping, Nines is going to murder someone, kidnappings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:00:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25063537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelgod187/pseuds/Angelgod187
Summary: Everyone thought Hank and Connor were in a relationship. That was not the case.Gavin and Nines go about trying to mend the two as Connor pushes Hank to make a call on what he really wants.
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: The Davis Investigation (Part 1) [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790206
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Have some family issues arise, so I'm going to go ahead and dump this whole story since I won't be around reliable internet for the next week. 
> 
> This is mostly everyone trying to get Hank to get his head out of his own ass. 
> 
> To the most wonderful beta, [WickedWon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedWon/pseuds/WickedWon), please go check their stuff out!
> 
> I'll hopefully start updating again by the end of next week. Enjoy this till then!

Gavin’s neck snapped up, a crash from across the pen catching his attention. It was Hank, based off the similarly startled Nines half out of his chair and Hank flailing on the floor. 

“Lieutenant?” Nines asked, coming around the desk. Looked like Hank missed his chair when he tried to take his seat. 

“Fuck off!” Hank shouted, getting to his feet clumsily. His blue eyes tracked Connor, unconcerned for his ex-partners condition. “I’m fine.”

Nines noticed as well, both watching as Connor dropped the sickly sweet coffee off on Gavin’s desk as he normally did every morning since they were forced to become partners. Gavin picked it up, toasting to Connor, taking a sip. 

“How's Hank been?” Gavin asked later that day, watching Nines and Hank leave to do some investigating in whatever case they were on. 

“I thought about what you said. So I didn’t make him dinner last night,” Connor said with a bright smile. “He got all flustered when I rebuffed him! Said I’m not his maid.”

“Holy shit, Connor!” Gavin hooted, slapping his desk with both hands. They’d had the whole conversation last week. Gavin was a little shocked Connor listened to him at all. “You  _ didn’t _ say ‘maid’!”

“I did!” Connor insisted. “I went straight to bed after that. He slept on the couch.”

Gavin leaned back in his chair, whistling the whole way back. “Fucking A, Con… You just fucked him up.”

“He was really tired this morning….” Connor said, eyes dimming. “I should have moved him in the middle of the night…”

“One night won’t kill the man.”

Connor rubbed his hands together, worried. “I know… but he is older...” 

“Fucker is stupid for saying no to a willing twink,” Gavin muttered quietly, turning back to his report. Connor blushed but didn’t add anything. 

At the end of the day, Nines collected Gavin. He sent off his report to Connor to combine their file before sending it off to Fowler. 

“Have a good night,” Gavin bid him, shrugging on his jacket. 

“You too, Reed.”

In the car, Nines burst.

“What did you do?!”

Gavin paused in putting on his seatbelt, shocked at the volume. “Excuse me?”

Blue eyes glared murder. “Connor going cold on Hank? This has you written all over it, Gavin. What the hell did you recommend Connor do? What for? Hank was a mess today.”

Gavin rubbed at the back of his neck. “Connor asked for some advice. I gave it to him. Same as I would do for anyone else.”

Nines rolled his eyes, sitting back in his seat. He didn’t speak right away. “Hank asked me on our way to the interview if he knew why Connor might be mad at him. When I asked him if something was wrong, I got ‘mind your own business’ from him.”

“Shit. Guys finally standing up for himself. Kinda proud of him,” Gavin said, starting the car to get the warm air going. 

Nines leaned into his disgust. “Excuse me?”

Gavin bristled for his partner. “Connor gets walked all over. Happens all the time. Finally about time he uses the metal spine they fucking gave you guys.”

Nines’ jaw worked under synthetic skin, head shaking. “Unbelievable. Connor has never been walked on.”

“Yeah, that’s why he spends half his day running around the office helping others to try and get on their good side, yet they still prefer you.”

Nines’ eyebrows shot to his hair. “What?”

“Never mind,” Gavin muttered, unable to believe he was having this argument with Nines. He wouldn’t have thought in a million years he would be defending an android from another android, let alone to be in a romantic relationship with the one and partnered at work with the other. Crazy fucking world. 

“He can figure his own shit out. They are both adults.”

Nines wasn’t convinced, still angry. 


	2. Chapter 2

Nines glanced at Hank again, the man in worse shape than yesterday. They were tasked with investigating an unexplained disappearance of an android. She got up and left one day, her human partner calling everywhere to get her disappearance looked into. Jericho called this one in, asking a favor of Hank, who the androids knew well. Fowler backed it up, happy to have some good publicity after the Davis debacle. 

Unfortunately, this was the same time that the Lieutenants personal life seemed to be crumbling out from under him. It was obvious he wasn’t sleeping while home and his clothes were haphazardly on his frame. Disheveled beyond his normal, it looked like whatever misguided advice Gavin had given Connor, his predecessor took it to heart. 

Currently they were trying to get a general idea of places Ms. Jet could have gone. Anywhere else that wasn’t the park, the library or work. Everyone always said the same thing. She kept a tight routine and was very friendly with everyone. Disappearing had them all very worried for her safety. Hank was dragging his feet, leaving Nines to do all the talking today.

“Will she be ok?” the neighbours young daughter, about fourteen, asked. 

“We are doing everything in our power to find her,” Nines promised, even as she looked over his shoulder to Hank, falling asleep on the sofa. 

They left the neighbours after that, returning to the car. Hank was dead on his feet, rubbing at the heavy bags under his eyes. 

“Hank, would you like to talk about it?” Nines asked carefully. He knew it involved Connor, but that was about it. Gavin hadn’t given him much to work with. Hank put on his seat belt, but didn’t start the car. 

Anderson didn’t say anything, still rubbing at his eyes. He took a deep breath, holding it in for a long time. When he pulled his hand away from his eyes, they were misty. “Connor thinks I’m using him as my own personal maid.”

Startled to hear the confession, coupled with Gavin cryptically defending Connor yesterday, it left a bad taste in his mouth. “Are you?”

Hank shifted so violently the car rocked. Anderson threw his hands up between the two of them, “Fuck no! I would never!” He defended, eyes wild. “No, no, no, never!”

“Ok, ok,” Nines waved him down. He grabbed at Hank’s wrists, lowering his arms. The man started hyperventilating, hands aimless till they found the steering wheel. Hank hadn’t had a panic attack since the mountain of dead bodies six months ago. The human had been recovering from his years of self deprecation under Connor’s careful watch. Two nights without it and he was backtracking fast. 

“Deep breaths, Hank. I’m right here, Lieutenant,” Nines ran his hand over Hank’s shoulders, trying to ground the man. “One, two, three, four, in. Breath out. Follow my voice, Hank.”

Hank’s face scrunched up in pain, burying the heel of a hand into one of his eyes. “Where the fuck did I fucking make him think--?”

“Shhh, Hank, calm down,” Nines rubbed a little harder. “Breath for me. Like I said, one, two, three-- That’s it, come on.”

They sat there, Hank doing his breathing exercise for about ten minutes. Hank slowly came back to himself, his anxiety attack calming down before it could really get started. Nines sat quietly, contemplating all the ways he was going to rip Connor apart and feed Gavin to wolves. 

Hank didn’t show emotions like this while at work. He’d learned to leave it at the door, especially with the android cases they were involved in. For him to be reduced, in two days, to a crying mess, meant something catastrophic was happening behind those sky blue eyes.

“Do you want me to drive and you talk?” Nines whispered. They needed to get back to the station to put down their notes from this round of interviews, but if Nines needed to drive aimlessly around the city till Hank was done talking, he’d do it. 

Hank nodded, numb to the outside after his emotional outburst. They switched sides, Hank throwing his head back against the chair, the seat down for him to rest a little easier. 

“I’m here,” Nines reminded, pulling away from the curb. 

It took Hank two minutes and seventeen seconds. “I think Connor is finally done with my shit,” Hank admitted quietly, hand coming back up to rub at his eyes. “That’s what it boils down to.”

Nines glanced at him, taking in his body's metrics. Satisfied Hank wasn’t spiraling back into another attack, he kept quiet. Hank needed space to talk this out. 

“I-- I was wondering when he was going to see staying with me was a bad idea. He needs to be out there, living. Instead, he refuses to leave. He’s stuck to me and insists he’s happy but… no one can be happy with someone like me.”

Nines held his tongue on the self deprecation Hank was spouting. Hank was on a roll and the implications of what he was saying had Nines’ software running wild. 

“I wasn’t expecting him to make dinner, I swear!” He threw a hand in the air. “It’s just his thing! I thought he  _ liked _ cooking! He did it all the time and I was his guinea pig since he can’t really taste… it was really good. Then… the other night he got all huffy on me when I asked about it. I hadn’t even thought about what I said. I don’t really remember how I phrased it, but from his reaction, it was the wrong way. 

“Then, today? We normally take Sumo on a walk together before coming in, but he didn’t bother waking me this morning. Woke alone in the house--” Hank choked up there. “Haven't been alone like that since… since the accident… “ Hank whispered. “Drudged up all that old fucking shit and I just…” 

Nines couldn’t hold himself back. He pulled over, reaching over the middle console, he slipped a hand around the back of Hank’s head pulling the human against him. 

In a rare moment of proof that their partnership was rock solid, Hank held onto him, sobbing into his shoulder. “I can’t say no if he wants to take Sumo,” Hank admitted between a body racking sob. “Take it all--” He went quiet, tears wetting Nines’ shoulder. 

“Have you thought about talking to him about it?” Nines wondered after a moment. 

Hank shook his head. “He must finally realize what a piece of shit I am. I knew it would happen, tried so hard not to get attached--”

“You need to talk to him,” Nines insisted, pulling back. Hank couldn’t meet his eyes, his sky blue down cast to the floorboard. 

“We’ll see,” Hank said non committedly. 

“Hank,” Nines insisted softly, knowing he needed to push, yet not wanting to over step. 

“I’m fine,” Hank sniffled. “Let’s go.”

Nines didn’t dare move. Hank glanced at him, sighing. “Yeah, ok, fine. I’ll see what the hell is up with Con.”

“Thank you,” Nines said, putting the car in drive to continue on their way. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I wouldn’t mind going with you?” Nines tried to be smooth about it, not corner Hank, offer him an out. 
> 
> Hank waved him off, not making eye contact. “Nah, don’t worry about it.”
> 
> Nines could see right through him. Hank wasn’t going to come back to work if he left now. Wasn’t planning on being sober tonight.

“Three more?” Nines mumbled to himself, seeing the additional missing android reports waiting in his work email the next morning. Disregarding them till Hank arrived, he pinged in with Connor to get their ETA.

_ Not coming in today. Got called in to Jericho.  _

_ Anything I should be concerned about? _

_ Hank is in a mood. _ Connor was avoiding the question. Not a good sign. 

Sure enough, no sooner had he received the message Hank staggered into the pen. 

Gavin whisleted from his desk. “What the hell did you fight, Anderson?! It won!” 

“That’s a fucking write up,” Hank spat back. He was wearing the same clothes from yesterday and smelled suspiciously of alcohol. 

Gavin’s feet went from his desk to the floor, standing with indigent justification. “What?! What for?!”

“Talking back to a superior. Now get back to work!” Hank roared, sitting down and plopping his face into his hands, knowing how much of a show he’d just put on. 

The whole station was still, all eyes on the Lieutenant. Gavin’s arms flail around, silently upset. He met Nines’ eyes, waving at him to do something. Nines shrugged, giving Hank his space. Instead of directly interfering, he went and grabbed his partner an extra strong coffee. 

“Thank you, Nines,” Hank muttered, taking the coffee placed on his desk.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” Nines said, the offer to talk there. Hank nodded, eyes flickering up to catch the androids. 

“Maybe later,” Hank said around the lip of his paper cup. Nines gave a bow of his head, returning to his seat. 

“Fucking hell, three more?” He suddenly cursed. A beat of silence. “Any ideas?”

“No. Will need to investigate further.”

“Shit. Feels connected though, doesn’t it?”

Nines nodded, unable to deny his instincts. “It’s highly suspect.”

Hank sighed, gulping down the scalding coffee as if it were nothing. Nines could only watch in a terrible combination of fascination and horror. Hank coughed once, the only sign of what he’d done. He stood back up, grabbing his keys. 

“Come on, let’s get these over with.”

Nines nodded, downloading all the information needed with a pass of his hand on his terminal. 

At the first house, Mrs. Jamski opened the door. She’d called in the first of the three missing android reports last night. Their arrival must have caught her off guard, she’d clearly been in the middle of crying. 

“Oh my god!” She fell to her knees, seeing Hank raise his badge instinctively. “No! Please! No!”

“Ma’am,” Hank was quick to kneel down. He had a few false starts as she howled in pain. “We are here to only get answers to our questions! We haven’t found a body.”

The woman stopped in the middle of her hysteria, “really?” She looked up to Nines, hope burning brightly in her mocha eyes. He nodded. 

Hank helped Mrs. Jamski get to her feet, the woman still recovering. “Please, please, come in!” She walked further into the house, waving to the L shaped couch in the rather large living room. “Have a seat, I’ll put on some coffee.”

Hank groaned in his chest, taking his seat, laying his head back and closing his eyes. Nines agreed quietly that the sofa was supportive yet soft. 

“She chose the sofa,” Mrs. Jamski said, touching the back of the sofa lovingly. “Was always worried about my comfort.”

“Do you remember the last place she said she was going?” Nines asked softly. 

The human nodded. “The library. She loves that place,” she said wistfully. “Had a whole group that would meet there three times a week.”

Nines started pulling library information from the two closest to this house, finding a match for Lilly immediately... At the one furthest away. 

“What did they do?” Hank asked, picking his head up off the back. “Read? They could look up the world's collections in hours.”

“It takes at least a week,” Nines corrected. “Humans have written many words over the years.”

Mrs. Jamski nodded. “She wanted community and… had a fascination with being more human. I always told her it wasn’t all about that, I didn't care but… she-- uh… she did.” She picked at her fingernail, clearly getting upset again. 

“Do you know the kinds of books they were reading?” Nines asked. 

She shook her head. “They read and discussed a book each time they met up. I tried to talk to her about it but it was kinda her thing. She kept it secret. I didn’t think about it at all after a while.”

It was a very similar story to all the others who’d gone missing. No one knew what they did. Just that they met a group of others at the library. Nines was starting to believe it was a front. 

Hank asked a few more questions, Nines building a theory. Keeping all of that in mind, the partners bid Mrs. Jamski a good day and moved on to the next victim's kin. 

Another very concerned partner. A tightly held schedule. Same distant library. 

And again at the next missing androids next of kin. But things took an unfortunate turn. 

“Do you even fucking care?!” Mr. Ross demanded, glaring at a half asleep Hank. Hank jilted awake at the shouting, a little too slow on the draw. 

“Holy shit, were you actually sleeping?! Antonio is out there missing and you couldn’t give any more of a shit, could you?!”

“No, please, Mr. Ross, this is simply a misunderstanding,” Nines tried to calm him down. 

“You care, but you're an android so it makes sense. Your fucking partner doesn’t seem to agree. Should have known better than to go to the police. Should have gone straight to Markus.”

“Now you wait—“ Hank was getting to his feet, clearly upset at the accusations. 

Mr. Ross got to his feet at the same time, “get out.” He demanded, voice like a whip. “Don’t come back.”

Nines apologized all the way to the door. 

“No,” Mr. Ross cut Nines off just as he was about to close his door. “I’m sorry you have to put up with a human like that. We aren’t all prejudiced.”

Nines didn’t have time to defend Hank, the human quietly closing the door on them. 

Hank was already back in the car, aggressively slamming his hands against the steering wheel in frustration. The car rocked with his rage, a man walking his dog looking over his shoulder to watch the spectacle. Nines gave him the walk up to the car to cool down. Hank’s hand covered his mouth, sky blue eyes peering out his window as if he’d been calmly waiting for Nines this whole time. 

Giving Hank the space he needed, Nines took the remaining four androids in the group listed in the library’s public records, adding them to the file. In doing so, a single human name appeared. John Davis. How interesting that the man who’s separated him and Gavin, and brother to the man now working with the FBI to bring the murdered androids justice, happened to be the human running the circle. 

Nines didn’t say anything of his new discovery, tucking the information away. Hank could easily see it if he bothered to look, rather than blindly trusting Nines’ reports. Anything associating Davis would once again be handed off to the FBI and Nines wanted answers of his own. He couldn’t seem to leave this case alone, no matter how he tried. Parts of their investigation kept brushing up against the Davis’ and Nines couldn’t help but feel he was still their ultimate target. 

He couldn’t let them get ahold of him, or Gavin. 

“This shit reeks,” Hank said, rubbing a hand over his face to try and wake himself up. 

“They all reported to the same library reading group,” Nines said to give Hank some information. Hanks eyebrows rose to his hairline. 

“Really?” 

“Same reading group. Same tightly held schedules. Strict structured jobs. Very loyal human partners.”

“It’s like they never woke up,” Hank muttered. “We might need to contact the FBI, make sure this isn’t a part of their sting.” 

Nines’ Thirium pump picked up. He couldn’t stop Hank, but this wasn’t ideal. “Maybe reach out to the other four who have not yet gone missing from the group, warn their partners to look for any strange behavior?” Nines rerouted, trying to keep Hank in the mindset of local. 

Hank cursed under his breath, roughly turning the key. “Fuckers sacrificing androids to hunt down their drug dealers, what the fuck?!” Hank wasn’t letting it go. 

He blindly chose the first prompt from his social programming. “Maybe that’s why Connor got called into Jericho?”

Hank’s hands froze on the gear shift. “He— what?”

Nines could see his LED blinking red in the windshield's reflection. He should have known Connor hadn’t told Hank his whereabouts, should have more carefully vetted his response. “He got called into Jericho?” Nines couldn’t help but question what he was saying, cringing at himself. 

He looked surprised, but nodded slowly. “Ah, makes sense.”

Nines clicked the pieces together quickly. He didn’t want to push Hank but he needed him distracted from the idea of handing this case off to the FBI. “Did he not spend the night last night?”

Hank shook his head, white knuckle grip on the steering wheel as he started the drive back down to the station. 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Nines assured him. 

“Wasn’t ever worried,” Hank groused, hands tightening further. Nines didn’t know what to say, his social protocols going haywire at his pushing the subject. Rather than upset his partner further, he sat in silence, happy to have Hank’s mind elsewhere.

Robert Davis has to be in on what his older brother was doing. The family history showed close bonds, Nines recalling their mother protecting Robert even after having murdered her grandchildren. Were the taken androids going to be given the black plating like Mary and Nameless from the alleyway? Were the ex-CyberLife employees still experimenting on their formula? Nameless hadn’t made it seem like R&D was still happening, but the differences between the black material on both androids showed otherwise. Recruiting androids, brain washing them into servitude… but why profile those who had someone to lose? 

The only logical conclusion? They wanted it high profile. They weren’t hiding in the shadows anymore. They were making moves. Maybe they had completed what they set out to make, and now production at scale was possible? This was all to get their name out faster. Start employing more indestructible androids to do their bidding. 

“Nines?” Hank's hand on his shoulder pulled him back to reality. 

“Sorry,” Nines said, recognizing the station parking lot. “Got caught up in the case,” he lied smoothly. 

“It’s ok. Was thinking of heading out and grabbing a bite to eat.”

Nines hand paused on the door handle, seeing the human physiological signs of lying. “I wouldn’t mind going with you?” Nines tried to be smooth about it, not corner Hank, offer him an out. 

Hank waved him off, not making eye contact. “Nah, don’t worry about it.”

Nines could see right through him. Hank wasn’t going to come back to work if he left now. Wasn’t planning on being sober tonight. Unfortunately, Nines needed him to spiral back into his worst habits, preconstructions ensuring it was the only way to make Connor see reason. 

“Ok. See you after lunch,” Nines said, ignoring the cast of guilt over Hank’s face. 

“Yeah. Be back later,” he lied. 

_ Hank was worried about you,  _ Nines sent to Connor, unable to hold his tongue. No response. Typical Connor.  _ I don’t know what advice Gavin gave you, but Hank is clearly not ok with the choices you’ve made rashly by yourself.  _

_ Maybe that’s the point. Leave it alone.  _

_ Not when his work is being affected, Connor.  _

_ He can handle a little pressure. If it was bad, he’d come talk to me about it.  _

Nines hand fisted.  _ Not when he doesn’t think he’s worthy of your time.  _

No response. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Bullshit,” Connor was on his feet. “I know you have feelings for me!”
> 
> “I didn’t say I didn’t!” Hank argued back. 

“Ready to head home?” Gavin asked, hip resting against Nines’ desk. 

“No. I’ll be heading to the Lieutenants place,” Nines said, peering over to the empty seat. It had been four and a half hours. Plenty of time for Hank to have grabbed food, a bottle and be well into it. Gavin seemed to notice for the first time that Nines was sitting alone. 

“Oh? What happened to the old fart?”

Nines received the taxi’s one minute alert at that very moment. Shutting his system down, he ignored his lover. 

Gavin caught on quick, Nines’ silence stoking the embers of his anger. “What happened?” Gavin asked again, adding an edge of order into his tone. The same one humans used pre-revolution to order androids around. Nines bristled, getting into his human’s space, towering over him. 

“You happened,” is all he said, leaving Gavin speechless against his desk. 

The taxi ride over was silent and nerve wracking. Nines couldn’t remember a time he was so terrified of opening a door. The taxi dinged helpfully, door opening automatically. There was a moment of hesitation. Hank was a grown man, he was handling this separation from Connor in a self destructive way but maybe he didn’t need intervention? 

He got his answer when Hank walked by his living room window, a bottle at his lips. Nines burst from the car, running up to the door. He hacked through Connors simple password to the automatic lock, shoving the door open. 

Hank didn’t seem to realize someone was in his home, shuffling himself into the kitchen. He was still in the same clothes, a bottle of Jack in his hand, half gone. It was clear he was heading back to the kitchen table, a worn path his drunken mind was used to taking. 

“Lieutenant!” Nines called from the door. Hank paused, looking over his shoulder, glassy drunk baby blues red rimmed. 

“HAaaaaay, ’ies,” Hank slurred. He raised a toast sloppily, the bottle half consumed, at Nines till he leaned back, drinking heavily. 

“Lieutenant, no, please!” Nines begged, closing the door quickly to keep his neighbors from talking. He ripped the bottle from the human’s grip. 

“‘Ey!” Hank reached back for his vice. 

Nines stretched his arm out of reach. “Hank! This isn’t the way to bring him back!”

Hank froze, eyes searching Nines’, a clarity behind the alcohol. Nines didn’t break eye contact, trying to pull off the delicate scenario he’d seen was possible. Hank backed down easily, downcast and emotionally working himself up. 

“Didn’t mean it,” he slurred. “I pr’mise.” 

Nines pulled him into a hug. “You didn’t. I know you didn’t.”

Hank clingged to him, caging Nines in his drunken power. “Ey want hmm back.”

Nines rubbed his back, a flash of metal catching his attention on the table. Hank’s revolver was laying there, next to another empty bottle of Lamb. Nines took the last five seconds of footage from his eyes, sending it straight to Connor. 

Nines wasn’t surprised to see the call notification. Nines denied the request. Connor tried again. Nines ignored it this time, letting it ring. 

_ What happened?  _

_ Nines?  _

_ Is he ok? Please tell me he’s ok _

Connor tried calling again but Nines denied it. 

“We should get you to bed, sleep this off,” Nines suggested, still in Hank's embrace. 

“Yeah,” was all he said, letting Nines go. He led the wobbly human down the hall, denying three more calls and letting another two ring all the way. 

_ Nines, this isn’t funny! Answer me _

_ I’m on my way _

Nines tucked Hank in, the man asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, exhausted. 

He picked up Connors next call. 

“Nines! Thank god, please—“

“How’s it feel to be ignored, Connor?” And Nines hung up once again. 

Connor smartly stopped trying to contact him.

Nines wandered around the house, grabbing a glass of water and the empty trash can from the bathroom. They were placed perfectly should Hank need either one. 

Sumo was fed and watered, a constant that Hank wouldn’t break. Sumo happily jumped from paw to paw when Nines grabbed his leash. They left for a short walk. Nines let his preconstruction software run wild on the conversations he and Connor could have. A small percentage ended with Nines taking the gun and ending Connor outright. Most weren’t so violent. A rather large percentage ended in a happy ending. 

Nines sat patiently on the couch after the walk and waited. Not five minutes later, Connor crashed through the front door. “Ha--! Nines?”

Nines stood crisply. “He’s asleep. He hasn’t slept well in days, but you wouldn’t know that. We need to talk,” Nines turned, heading for the kitchen table. 

He sat down where Hank had been, gun sitting on the table.

“Is it loaded?” Connor whispered, frozen in the archway between living room and kitchen. 

“Two bullets,” Nines confirmed after a quick scan. He didn’t mention that one of the two bullets was next in the chamber. That if he’d been only a minute later, he would have walked in on a successful suicide. 

Connor stumbled, systems under emotional strain unable to function to keep him upright. He fell to his knees, using the other chair across from Nines to keep upright.

“No,” his horrified mutterence could have shaken the walls of the house had he shouted. 

“What possessed you to do all this?” Nines demanded, feeling very little for his predecessor in the moment. “What could possibly be worth putting the both of you through something like this?”

“Love.”

Nines hadn’t constructed that answer, systems rerouting resources to find an appropriate response. All the preconstructions he’d done on his earlier walk dead and useless. “What?”

Connor pushed himself back to his feet, eyes unseeing. “I-- I love him. And he clearly loves me… but he won’t allow us to be in a romantic relationship. If he can’t see us together then… Maybe seeing what it was like without me would trigger something. But… not this… never this.”

“You backed out of what you’d built in hopes that it would crumble the way you wanted?” Nines demanded. 

Sharp mocha eyes glared at him. “No. Hank was supposed to see how miserable he was without me, what I do for him everyday. He should have seen by now that what we have together is so much more than roommates or… whatever he tells himself we are.”

Nines shot to his feet, grabbing at his hair in frustration. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” He demanded, rounding on a shocked Connor. “What happened to talking?! He thinks you hate him! That he expects maid services from you or that…” his systems are at a loss of words for a moment, so enraged at what Connor was implying. “He thinks you’ve walked out on him for good and he folded right away! This is what you wanted him to see? What life without you is like, Connor? Well, welcome to what he was before you saved him.” 

“No, never,” Connor promised. “I never wanted this!” 

“Then fucking tell him that! Stop using these human methods of backhanded insinuations and physical flirtation! All of this could have been saved if you’d sit him down and had the conversation!”

“You think I didn’t try?!” Connor was on his feet now too, frustration clear in the lines of his face. “Everything I said went through one ear and out the other! Nothing I said mattered. Nothing I felt meant anything… So I might as well have been a glorified fleshlight for all the relationship we had,” Connor’s voice got progressively more quiet till he was whispering. 

Nines signed, arms crossing over his chest. “Humans are hard to deal with sometimes,” Nines conceded. “But Gavin is the last person you should have listened to, too.”

“North had given me similar advice when I asked her about it,” Connor defended. 

From the few times Nines had the pleasure of meeting the feisty Traci model, he knew that her and Gavin would be in similar boats. “I’m not sure if that is a proper argument either,” Nines said. 

Connor properly took his seat, clearly exhausted in the way he bowed under the weight of his actions. “I don’t know how else to tell him that I want more. I can’t stay in limbo like this, Nines. The stress on my processors is getting to be too much.” His eyes were misty, playing with the end of his jacket without the coin to move his fingers.

“If Hank can’t see past what he has, then maybe it is time to be selfish and leave,” Nines said, knowing that he had to push Connor just a little bit too. 

“I think I’d rather melt my processors than leave,” Connor said, head pulling to the side with a watery smile. “That’s love, right?”

Nines shook his head, reaching out for Connor on his approach. Connor didn’t move, allowing his successor to grab the back of his head and force it against his stomach, running pale fingers through brown hair. Connor gripped onto his black and white jacket, the material protesting loudly as the android fisted it, leaning into Nines, he burst into full body sobs. 

Sumo lumbered over after a moment, sensing something was wrong with his owner. He set his head in Connor’s lap, doleful eyes peering up at Nines as if asking if he would be ok. Nines could only nod, no matter how Sumo couldn’t possibly understand. 

“Connor?” A weak voice called from behind Nines.

Both androids turned to see Hank leaning against the mouth of the hallway. He was still recovering from his binge, their shouting match must have woken him. Connor released Nines, rushing to his humans side. Hank reached out at the same time Connor did, both embracing the other. 

“I thought you were gone,” Hank muttered against Connor’s shoulder. “You just left in the middle of the night.”

“No, God no, Hank,” Connor was sobbing. Over and over he repeated the same thing, systems under too much emotion strain to come up with a new sentence. Hank held him, silent tears wetting his cheeks. 

“Why don’t we sit down and talk?” Nines asked softly, pulling the two apart. 

Both looked at one another before nodding. Nines took the armchair and the partners took the sofa. Hank was still a little drunk and now probably wasn’t the most opportune of moments, but better now than ever.

“So--” Hank had to clear his throat. “You were at Jericho?” he asked, not meeting Connor’s eyes. 

“Yes. Marcus wanted an update on the kidnappings but I told him you and I weren’t partners anymore. We got sidetracked on talks of android law he’s drafting and… time got away from me.”

“Almost a whole day?” Hank questioned, seeing past the lie. “Even from work? Markus has never asked you to skip work for something like law writing before.”

Connor colored a little. “I may have lied to him and said I had the day off.”

“You lied to stay away from me.” It wasn’t a question. Connor reached out to take Hank’s hand, a worried crease in his brow. Hank snatched his hand back. “Why?” It cracked out like a whip. 

It was Connor’s turn to down cast his eyes, Hank searching for weakness. 

In a moment of clarity Connor straightened his back and shoulders, a determined set to him. He met Hank’s gaze head on. “I was tired of you avoiding the conversation of a romantic relationship between us,” Connor confessed. 

“Because you can’t want something like that from me,” Hank shrugged. Their patterns were obvious to Nines, Connor becoming defensive at the words and Hank shutting down into his self hatred. 

“Why can’t I love you?” Connor demanded. 

“You haven’t lived. You don’t understand what you’re missing out on,” Hank tried to reason. 

Nines raised a hand, stopping Connor’s retort cold. They both turned to him, looking for answers on why the other was being so difficult. 

“Hank, why do you insist that Connor go out and live? He’s arguably died twice and yet still, he’s come back to you.”

Hank paled a little at the reminder. “Uh--”

“Or that he has the whole of the internet and human knowledge at his whim but still takes care of you every night? Why does his choice to stay make you so uncomfortable?”

Hank clearly didn’t like being put on the spot, chest puffing out a little. “You can’t understand, Nines,” he dodged. 

Nines decided to humor him. “Why couldn’t I possibly understand?”

“Because you have years left with Gavin and he won’t!” Hank snapped, pointing at Connor. 

Both androids where struck dumb. On a roll, Hank kept going. “I see them together everyday,” Hank confessed to Connor. “I see how happy they are and I couldn’t want more for you than that. Decades of a happy life together. But I’m not in my prime anymore, Con. I can’t give you that. I have maybe ten good years left then I’m fucking geriatric. I won’t let you watch me die.”

Connor’s cheeks were wet with tears, seeing the truth of it in his partner's eyes. “Then why did you lead me on like this?”

Hank ran a frustrated hand through silver hair. “I didn’t-- you kept coming at me! I… I got worn down with the touches, the flowers, you filling up the house. I gave in, Con. I’m sorry I turned into my selfish cravings to keep you here. I can only say no so many times.”

“Bullshit,” Connor was on his feet. “I know you have feelings for me!”

“I didn’t say I didn’t!” Hank argued back. 

“Then please, let me have ten  _ great _ years. Please Hank, if not for me, then you. You deserve them after everything you’ve lived through.” Hank had the heel of his hands in his eyes, trying to hide his tears. Connor got to his knees on the floor, grabbing onto Hank’s bicep, clinging to hope. “You’ve been through so much. Please let me make you happy, Hank.”

“I love you,” Hank confessed through a sob, reaching out to throw nearly his whole weight on Connor to hug him. On his knees, Connor supported nearly the whole of Hank’s weight as if it were nothing. 

“I love you so much more,” Connor assured. “Please, Hank.”

He nodded against Connor’s shoulder, sagging as if his strings were cut. Unable to hold back his own tears, Connor buried his face against Hank, both crying against the other. 

Nines left when the taxi arrived, both still holding one another, crying. His work here was done.


	5. Chapter 5

Hank and Connor came in the next day all smiles. Gavin glared between the two as they split, Connor going to get his coffee and Hank to his desk, where his coffee was already waiting.

Nines had come back home last night, self satisfied. He’d pulled Gavin to bed early and held him close all night. Not that Gavin hated the attention, but it was unusual and he still had a bone to pick at Nines’ digging into him before mysteriously leaving after work yesterday. He’d tried to pry an answer from his android but Nines didn’t say a word. Hadn’t even apologized for blowing up on him after work before storming off. Fucker was lucky Gavin loved him. 

It wasn’t till they were back at Gavin’s favorite cafe that he got his chance to ask. 

“So what the fuck happened yesterday?”

Nines smiled sweetly to himself, “nothing that concerns you,”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “No, seriously. What the hell? Hank comes in looking like shit only to have Con on his arm the next day?”

“It’s nothing to worry yourself over. Connor has a high probability of telling you, when he’s ready.”

Grumbling all the way back to the station, Gavin stood next to Connor’s desk. The android peered up at him when Gavin didn’t move away. 

“Everything worked out?” He asked awkwardly. 

Connor beamed, nodding enthusiastically. “All we needed as a mediator. I owe Nines greatly.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, patting Connors desk. “Glad it worked itself out.”

“Me too. Me too.”


End file.
